In the new economic climate a mantra is going around venture capital circles–”save customers money.” Most of us in the valley are already aware of this trend and have been for some time. It certainly sums up Ocarina’s mission in a neat little nutshell. Today, the New York Times Bits blog reported on a talk from three major VC investors, all of whom say this is the way to their hearts.
Promod Haque, a managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners, is quoted as saying, “‘The core driver is efficiency and cost savings.’”
The article cites three investment areas where they are backing horses that fit this mold–IT, health care technology and green tech. This is no coincidence, as all three of these areas have potential for immense efficiency gains. Interestingly, Ocarina Networks straddles all three of these areas, with storage optimization technologies that increase efficiency in data centers, reduce their storage load, and save on costs. Most recently, for example, the company has developed a specific solution for life sciences, working in partnership with Cornell University and DataDirect Networks to manage the upwardly spiraling load of genomics and other medical data that is crucial to its research and services divisions.
The trend towards cost-cutting is poised to pick up steam, and to us this is a good thing. Some of the greatest innovations come out of real needs, and with storage and other IT costs ballooning, finding ways to significantly bring these down is crucial.
